Photo: slowmotiongli via Adobe Stock
Fishers call them baitfish because we understand the fundamental role sardines play in the ocean ecosystem—linking small plankton to the larger animals that depend on them for food. Pacific sardines feed our fisheries and are critical to the health of California’s coastal ecosystem.
Unfortunately, Pacific sardines are overfished and their abundance has declined by 97 percent from historical highs. Rather than follow through with a plan to support recovery and restore the abundance of this fishery, on November 17th, the Pacific Fishery Management Council is proposing to redefine an overfished stock by combining two distinct subpopulations of the species, and remove critical protections to rebuild the fishery. Pacific Fishery Management Council’s proposals are ultimately adopted by NOAA Fisheries, the federal government agency responsible for implementation and enforcement of our national fishery laws.
Sardine populations have natural boom and bust cycles that fluctuate with ocean conditions, but because fishing pressure is often consistent throughout those cycles, the declines become more significant and it becomes harder for the species to reach past peaks. Over the last century, Pacific sardines have crashed several times, never fully recovering to peak levels. The most recent fishery collapse was in 2015 and in 2019, the northern Pacific sardine population was officially designated “overfished” under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—the primary law in the U.S. for managing fisheries. The overfished designation requires the development and implementation of a rebuilding plan to restore the population to a sustainable level. Just last year in 2025—a decade after collapse—NOAA Fisheries finally adopted a rebuilding plan consistent with the law that better protects the population.
Now, rather than follow through with the rebuilding plan in place, fishery managers are proposing to eliminate the plan altogether and fundamentally change how Pacific sardines are managed. Consistent with our commitment to precautionary and science-based approaches to fishery management, Fish On submitted a letter to the Council urging them to delay redefining the stock and making management changes without first completing the necessary science to clearly understand the impacts of this risky decision.
